Final answer:
The main objectives of cancer surgery include diagnosis, where the aim is to determine the type and stage of cancer, and treatment, which can be pre-invasive, curative, debulking, or palliative depending on the tumor's characteristics and spread.
Step-by-step explanation:
The objectives of cancer surgery are diagnosis and treatment. For diagnosis, surgery determines the type and stage of cancer, often by examining a biopsy of the tumor. Cancer often first metastasizes to the lymph nodes, and the sentinel nodes are checked to assess the spread of cancer. Treatment through surgery can involve various approaches depending on the tumor's nature and extent of spread:
- Pre-invasive or pre-malignant tumors are removed to prevent progression to invasive cancer.
- Curative surgery aims to completely remove all cancerous tissue and potentially cure the patient.
- Debulking surgery is performed to remove a significant portion of the tumor to improve the effectiveness of other treatments.
- Palliative surgery is aimed at relieving symptoms and improving quality of life when cure is not possible.